I’ve often likened the process of underclassmen deciding whether or not to forgo their remaining year(s) of college eligibility, and enter their name in the NBA draft, to swimming without a lifeguard on duty. Some guys can swim and some can’t. Each year, you have your sure-fire can’t-miss prospects who definitely should depart their institutions of higher learning for the millions of dollars that NBA teams are dying to give them. But of course, you have the head-scratchers where young men willingly bid farewell to college when they have no business doing so. It never fails.
Underclassmen had until 11:59 PM ET on April 24 to declare for the 2011 NBA draft. A total of 69 guys thought enough of their potential prowess on the next level to at least put their name into the draft pool. Naturally, not all of them hired an agent which meant they still retained their amateur status and could return to school by the May 8 deadline. Well, May 8 has come and gone, so time’s up. Therefore, the final list of underclassmen remaining in this year’s draft is set. It began with 69 guys and only 37 remain. Thirty-two decided to go back to school.
Here’s the final list of the 37 U.S. underclassmen early entrants for the 2011 NBA draft:
| Player | School | Year | Position | Height | Weight |
| Alec Burks | Colorado | So. | G | 6’6" | 185 |
| DeAngelo Casto | Washington State | Jr. | F | 6’8" | 255 |
| Troy Gillenwater | New Mexico State | Jr. | F | 6’8" | 234 |
| Jeremy Green | Stanford | Jr. | G | 6’4" | 198 |
| Jordan Hamilton | Texas | So. | G/F | 6’7" | 220 |
| Tobias Harris | Tennessee | Fr. | F | 6’8" | 210 |
| Desmond Holloway | Coastal Carolina | Jr. | G | 6’3" | 167 |
| Tyler Honeycutt | UCLA | So. | F | 6’7" | 195 |
| Scotty Hopson | Tennessee | Jr. | G | 6’7" | 205 |
| Kyrie Irving | Duke | Fr. | G | 6’2" | 180 |
| Reggie Jackson | Boston College | Jr. | G | 6’3" | 208 |
| Terrence Jennings | Louisville | Jr. | F | 6’9" | 220 |
| Cory Joseph | Texas | Fr. | G | 6’3" | 185 |
| Enes Kanter | Kentucky | Fr. | F | 6’11" | 260 |
| Brandon Knight | Kentucky | Fr. | G | 6’3" | 185 |
| Malcolm Lee | UCLA | Jr. | G | 6’5" | 180 |
| Kawhi Leonard | San Diego State | So. | F | 6’7" | 225 |
| Travis Leslie | Georgia | Jr. | G | 6’4" | 202 |
| DeAndre Liggins | Kentucky | Jr. | G | 6’6" | 210 |
| Shelvin Mack | Butler | Jr. | G | 6’3" | 215 |
| Darius Morris | Michigan | So. | G | 6’4" | 190 |
| Marcus Morris | Kansas | Jr. | F | 6’10" | 235 |
| Markieff Morris | Kansas | Jr. | F | 6’10" | 245 |
| Jereme Richmond | Illinois | Fr. | G/F | 6’7" | 205 |
| Carleton Scott | Notre Dame | Jr. | F | 6’7" | 217 |
| Josh Selby | Kansas | Fr. | G | 6’2" | 185 |
| Iman Shumpert | Georgia Tech | Jr. | G | 6’5" | 210 |
| Chris Singleton | Florida State | Jr. | F | 6’9" | 225 |
| Greg Smith | Fresno State | So. | F | 6’10" | 250 |
| Isaiah Thomas | Washington | Jr. | G | 5’9" | 185 |
| Trey Thompkins | Georgia | Jr. | F | 6’9" | 245 |
| Klay Thompson | Washington State | Jr. | G | 6’6" | 202 |
| Tristan Thompson | Texas | Fr. | F | 6’9" | 230 |
| Nikola Vucevic | USC | Jr. | F | 6’10" | 240 |
| Kemba Walker | Connecticut | Jr. | G | 6’1" | 170 |
| Derrick Williams | Arizona | So. | F | 6’8" | 240 |
| Jordan Williams | Maryland | So. | F | 6’10" | 260 |
The eyes of some of these young men will be filled with tears of joy when they hear their names called on June 23 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Unfortunately, some will be filled with tears for the exact opposite reason. I’ll let you decide which outcome will happen to which guys.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
